Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry has been dropped as a model for high street retailer Marks And Spencer after he praised the German Nazi regime as “really beautiful” and “just amazing”.

A Marks And Spencer source as well as his agent said there are no plans to feature Ferry for any future campaigns.

Steven Spielberg has appealed to Chinese President Hu Jintao to pressure Sudan over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

The director is serving as an artistic advisor for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and hopes the host country can help persuade the African nation to allow access to United Nations peacekeepers in the troubled region.